The Feline Warden
by IdealisticSoul
Summary: A collection of fragments from Ser Pounce-a-lot's life and its feline thoughts.
1. Prologue

**The Feline Warden**

**Summary** : a collection of fragments from Ser Pounce-a-lot's life and its feline thoughts

**Type**: Comedy, Parody

**Warning**: contains detailed description of a sweet and innocent pussycat, with wide-eyes that are capable of melting your heart. If you're not a cat lover, there are high chances that you would turn into one after reading this short story. So, beware! ;-)

_**This story contains spoilers for Awakening.**_

_**I don't own anything related to DAO or the characters from the game. The only thing I own here, is my wild imagination!**_

_Huge thanks to my Beta Reader, **Zeeji**, for her hard work and her kindness._

**Prologue**

It was late evening and the darkness had already swallowed the old forest near the Vigil's Keep fortress. A full moon was rising slowly between the old oak trees; its powerful beams of light were gently caressing the stone road through the forest. A cat was running fast through the darkness of the night, heading for the Keep. Its fur was all dirty, dark grey, with dried mud clinging to it – so dirty that it made its natural color unknown. Its tail was bleeding; its left ear had a big fresh scar. Behind the dirty feline, three other cats followed. It looked like they were chasing the other cat through the forest. A big male cat, with completely black fur was running, hardly keeping pace with the chased feline. On its left, there was a young tiger striped medium size cat - also male - who seemed to run faster than the other two. A small piebald female cat was running on the right side of the black feline. Suddenly, the dirty cat slipped into a small puddle full of mud, but it recovered its balance quickly and started to run faster. The black cat tried to run faster too, but it seemed that its fat legs were making running difficult.

"He's getting away, Blacky!" meowed the tiger striped cat. As he looked at the exhausted black cat, it suddenly slowed down, almost stopping.

"Nobody escapes Blacky the Ripper!" meowed the black cat, hardly breathing. "Come back and fight, Dirt Sack!"

"Coward!" meowed the piebald. "You bit his tail pretty hard, Blacky!" She smiled and bashed her beautiful feline eyelashes at the black cat.

"He's so fast!" meowed the black cat, as it stopped and flung itself on the ground, exhausted. "I'll rip you apart if I see you near my female again, Dirt Sack!" he yelled after his running enemy.

"You're letting him escape, Blacky?" asked the piebald in a disappointed tone.

"Don't worry, love, he'll eventually turn into breakfast for a dog or a darkspawn." said the big cat, smiling.

"He's going to the Keep! I've seen a lot of darkspawn there yesterday." said the tiger cat.

"Let's go back to the village before we meet those ugly creatures ourselves." ordered the big cat.

The dirty cat with an injured tail was running fast on the road to Vigil's Keep, when, suddenly, it heard a lot of noise: metal clinks. There were some humans walking on the road. A big human male, dressed in some very shiny clothes made from hard metal, was surrounded by some other humans wearing similar clothes, but less sophisticated. The big shiny human started to walk in its way. The cat stared at the shiny man, not knowing how to react. It tried to think of a way to avoid him; the human looked very sad and seemed to stumble. The cat moved slowly to the edge of the road, but the stupid human seemed to be walking straight into its way. It looked like the shiny human was either blind or did not see the cat in the dark. The cat froze and tried to think of a way to avoid the humans that were getting closer. It could not run back to the village. Blacky was there. '_Maybe they cannot see me; I heard that humans don't see in the dark_.' thought the cat as it tried to hide behind a big rock, near the edge of the road. But the shiny human walked right in front of that rock and, just when he was about to step on the cat, the feline pounced into a bush, startling the man. The human made a strange sound, like a deep moan, then lost his balance and fell on his back.

"Ouch! What was that?" asked the shiny man as he was helped to stand by some other humans.

"I think it was a cat, your Majesty." answered another human.

"Riiight. I almost broke my neck while stumbling over a cat! Good thing it was not a darkspawn." said the shiny human, sarcastically.

"The Keep and its surroundings are safe now. The new Warden Commander killed all the darkspawn from this area, when she came here yesterday, followed by Mhairi, your Majesty." said another male human. "But we need to reach the Bannorn as soon as possible. There might be bandits on the road."

"Maybe the cat is tainted. Do you want me to kill it, your Majesty?" asked a human female wearing metal clothes, smiling wickedly.

"No, Rylock, let it be... it was not its fault. I've been distracted by my thoughts. I should have watched my steps." said the shining human in a very sad tone.

Then the group of humans walked away, leaving the scared cat trembling in the bush. As soon as the cat recovered from the shock, it ran towards the Keep, using all its feline power.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_**A/N**__: For those of you who don't remember who Rylock is: she's that templar woman from the king's escort, from Awakening - the one who wanted to imprison/execute Anders._


	2. Strangers

**Strangers**

The dirty cat reached the keep and found shelter under a broken wooden crate. It started to clean its injured tail, licking it slowly. _'Damn you Blacky! You bit my precious tail, you big brute!' _After a few moments, it curled in a ball position and fell into a deep sleep. After all, it had been such an exhausting day!

It was already lunch and the sun was shining brightly in the blue sky. The cat decided to go out of its new shelter and search for some food, as it stomach was making an annoying noise.

But just when it got out from the broken wooden crate, a small party of humans walked in its way.

"Is that a cat?" said a human female dressed in metal clothes as it approached the small feline.

The cat looked innocently at the woman that was bent in front of it and whispered a small "Meow!", while its shining eyes opened wide. It stared sadly at her for a few moments, with an innocent face.

"You're not a possessed cat, are you?" asked the woman, in a very skeptical tone.

'_Hm... I see... not a cat lover. DOG person!_' hissed the cat as it made a small step backwards.

A man, wearing a dress, approached the cat. '_What's with __these humans? The woman wears clothes made of hard metal and the man is in a dress? Uh... Reverse role playing... I get it now!'_ thought the cat as it made the "cute and innocent wide eyes"expression again. But this time it worked!

"Look at this poor kitty!" said the human in a dress.

"Maybe it already has an owner... we're fighting darkspawn... we can't take care of you, _poor kitty_." said the female in a very sad tone.

"Let me take care of it, Commander! Pleeease..." begged the man in dress.

The woman sighed deeply and then nodded. "Alright, Anders. But you're responsible for it!"

The man in the dress smiled gratefully at the woman. "Thank you, Commander."

A smaller human with a lot of hair on his face approached them. He was wearing clothes made of hard metal too and was carrying a big ax on his back.

"Hey, mage, you've found a pet?" said the hairy human that smelled like a brewery.

The cat hissed at the dwarf. '_I'm not a 'pet'! Dogs are pets! I'm a proud and independent feline, you hairy little human!_'

"It's a friend, dwarf," said the human in a dress as he took the cute and innocent cat in his arms. "Hi there, little kitty!"

"Meow!" whispered the cat. '_I'm not a kitty! I'm a mature feline. A male. Look for yourself._' he raised its tail, so that the human to see that he was a male indeed. '_Got it now?_'

"I think he's trying to show you that it's a boy." said the woman, smiling.

"Right... you're a tomcat!" said the man in a dress as he petted the cat gently. "Hi there, little fellow!"

"It's so dirty! We need to give it a bath, Anders." said the woman in a commanding tone.

'_Wait... what's a 'bath'? You're not going to lock me somewhere, are you? I'm an independent... Well, at least feed me first. I'm so hungry! Uh, I hope it means foooood!_'

The woman dressed in metal clothes smiled at the man that was holding the cat in his arms. She got closer and petted the cat. The little human with a lot of hair on his face took a few gulps of some stinky liquid from a bottle. They chatted a little with another small human, and then they walked slowly inside the keep.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A cat was staring at two humans, a man and a woman, from above. It had climbed on a high shelf and was scared; its back was arched, its fur raised. '_Get away from me, you bad humans! I trusted you..._' hissed the cat at the man and the woman. A big tub full of water was placed in the middle of the room.

"I don't think we're going to make it get down, are we?" asked the man wearing a dress.

"No, it's definitely afraid of water." answered the woman in metal cloths. "I don't understand it... my dog, Nero, _liked_ water."

'_Of course I don't like WATER! I'm a CAT! And I was sooooo naive to believe that you were actually going to feed me! Baaaaad humans!_' hissed the cat again.

The humans stared for a few moments at the scared cat, who was staring at them from above.

"Plan B?" asked the woman, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess we don't have any other choice here, do we?" said the man as he raised his hands in the air and whispered some unknown words.

The cat looked at the two humans, with fear in its eyes. '_Wait... what's plan B? What are talking ab-_', but the feline didn't finish its thoughts because it immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The woman climbed on a chair and gently took the sleeping cat in her arms. She got down and placed the cat in the man's arms. Then the man carefully soaked the cat into the tub. He held its head above the water, while the woman washed the cat's body with a piece of soap. After a few moments, the humans placed the soaked cat on a clean towel and wrapped it gently.

"I'm sorry for that, kitty! But you had fleas... " whispered the man as he gently wiped the cat's body with a clean towel. "That's right, pretty kitty! You _had_ fleas! But you are now rid of them, my friend!"

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The sun was getting down as it was already evening. Its last rays of light were gently petting an orange tabby cat who was sleeping peacefully on a bed, wrapped in a white towel - inside a room at or Vigil's Keep. Suddenly, the cat opened its eyes and pounced out of the towel. '_Hey, what h__ave you done to me? I hope you didn't..._' thought the cat as it immediately checked its "proud male pack" from under its tail. '_Uh, everything is still there. Good.' _Then the cat inspected its tail. _ 'Hey, that human fixed my tail! And my fur... I'm a tabby? Really? I thought my natural color is grey... dark grey with some orange spots. This is... interesting.' _It looked closer at its fur and saw that it was very clean, even smelled nicely – some nice flower scent. Looking even closer it was even more surprised. '_What? No more __fleas__? Hm, not bad... not bad at all._'

The door opened and the cat immediately jumped from the bed and climbed on the shelf again. The human wearing a dress entered the room, with a bowl and a small plate in his hands.

"Hi there, pretty kitty!" said the man. "I've brought foood!"

'_Get away from me, you..._' hissed the cat. But then it stopped suddenly. '_Food? It smells good... is that meat?_'

"Come down, kitty!" said the man as he placed the food on the floor. "I'm not going to hurt you, my little friend!"

The cat stared suspiciously at the man for a few moments. Then its stomach started to make a loud__noise. '_Well... I guess I could eat a little... but then I'm LEAVING!_' thought the cat as it got down from the shelf.

'_No sudden moves, human!_' hissed the cat to the man that was smiling at it.

"You're such a pretty cat!" said the human. "I need to find a name for you... let's see... Tom?"

'_What? Nooo! I have an ugly cousin named 'Tom'. Some humans __called him that. __I don't like that name!_' disapproved the cat with a small groan, while it continued to eat fast.

"Hmmm... I guess that's too common." said the man, frowning. "Something else... how about Tabby?"

The cat choked on its food. '_Hey! Bad choice! If I get dirty again I won't be a tabby anymore!_' hissed the cat.

"I guess you don't like that either... You're a special cat, right?" said the man, smiling.

The cat recovered from the choking and drank some milk from the bowl. '_Uh, this thing is soooo good! I never drank __anything__ like this. What is it?_' thought the cat, while it was feasting on the warm milk.

"You like the _milk_, kitty?" asked the man as he approached the cat slowly.

The cat licked the milk out of the bowl greedily. '_MILK! I must remember this word... this delicious __liquid it's so good!_'

It was so focused on the task of satisfying its hunger that it did not see the human bending and petting it.

"I'm sorry about the bath, kitty." whispered the man.

'_Hey! That awful word again... BATH!_' thought the cat as it immediately pounced and ran under the bed.

"No! Don't worry, kitty! I'm not going to bathe you! If you clean yourself I won't bathe you ever again!" said the man as he bent down close to the bed and looked at the scared cat.

'_You bet your little human tail from behind your scruff that I will! If I ever hear the words 'water' or 'bath' again, I'm leaving!_' hissed the cat.

"Come, kitty. Finish your milk!" said the human as he placed the bowl with milk closer to the bed.

'_Hmm... I guess I could drink more of that delicious liquid..._' thought the cat as it gently approached the bowl.

"That's right, little kitty!" said the man as he petted the cat again. "You're such a quick jumper! You pounce a lot, my friend!"

The human stared at the cat for a few moments, and then, suddenly, he smiled. "That's it! Ser Pounce-a-lot!"

"Meow!" The cat stopped licking the milk and stared at the human. '_Sorry... I don't follow orders! I'm a cat, not a dog. Must I repeat myself?_'

"What do you think of your name, Ser Pounce-a-lot?" asked the man. "Do you think it's appropriate?"

'_Yeah, I can pounce a lot! So you named me, "Ser"... sounds good... shows that you respect me. I once knew a human who called another human - a noble one - "Ser". You think I'm a noble_ _bred __cat, my naive human? Well... I like that! I guess this means that you must serve me!_' thought the cat as it stared at him.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot! I like the sound of that!" said the man, smiling.

The cat made an approving "Meow!" '_You can call me anything you want, human. As long as you feed and serve me! I guess I could stick around for a few days... this white liquid is soooo good!_' thought the cat as it started to purr.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_**A/N**: I don't own the "cute and innocent wide-eyes" persuasion technique. It's from Puss in Boots - "Shrek", of course._


	3. Join Us, Brothers and Sisters

_Many thanks to Zeeji, my Beta Reader!_

**Join Us, Brothers and Sisters**

After he had feasted well, Ser Pounce-a-lot immediately started to investigate the room. The place was big, surrounded by high walls – it was a lot of ground to cover. He didn't like that, to be locked inside a box, even a big one like this. There was a bed close to a big window; he could see an old oak tree in front of the window. Tempting! It seemed an easy way out of that place; all he needed to do was to jump on it and... if only the human would have opened that damned window!

But the cat already decided to stick around for a few more days... feast well, take advantage of that human who was smiling happily at it.

Inside the room, there was also a high shelf full of books, a small desk and two chairs. Behind the shelf, the cat saw a basket full of dried herbs. He didn't like their powerful scent, so he avoided it. A very soft carpet, made of white wool, was placed in the middle of the room. _'Hmm! This is so soft and... cozy!' _thought Ser Pounce-a-lot as he made himself comfortable on the soft carpet. There were no feline scents there. It was an unmarked territory, no other cats had been there before, for a long period of time or... ever.

This could become _his_ territory... that was if he would eventually decide to remain there.

Ser Pounce-a-lot got closer to the human and started to rub his head to his clothes, while the man was petting him. Then he started to purr happily. '_This human is not __as__ bad as I thought._'

He had never lived with humans. He had been on the run for almost three years, ever since he was a little kitty and had been separated from his mother, brothers and sisters. He had occasionally used his "special poor kitty look" on humans to get food, but then he had moved on quickly. He got into trouble with Blacky in that village because of the piebald beauty, who seemed to be Blacky's female. He had tried to defeat Blacky, but failed. Blacky had fought dirty, he had bitten his tail! Ser Pounce-a-lot had been forced to flee, to run away from that village.

"You're such a pretty kitty, Ser Pounce-a-lot!" said the human.

"Meow!" whispered the cat. _'Oh, how flattering! I like that... you're a pretty human yourself!'_ thought the cat as it purred louder.

"I'm so happy that I found you kitty! I had a cat once... in that Tower." said the human sadly.

The cat stared suspiciously at the human. '_And may I ask happened to it? Nothing bad... I hope._'

"Poor Mr. Wiggums! It was the only thing I missed about that awful Tower." said the mage as he sighed deeply. "But now I'm free... well as free as I can be as a Grey Warden, kitty. And I have found another cat... you, my little friend."

The cat rubbed its head to the human's clothes again. '_I see... so you escaped from somewhere... you're an independent living being yourself. I like you even better now, human. Wait... this means that your other cat is..._' The cat looked suspiciously at the human.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Ser Pounce-a-lot!" said the mage as he took the cat in his arms.

The cat started to purr again. '_So, the other cat is probably dead. Good! I hate competition!_'

The mage spent his evening with his little feline friend, reading a book while the cat inspected every inch of the room. It even got inside the closet and had a quick look in there too. As soon as he finished all the inspection, Ser Pounce-a-lot meowed in front of the door. He wanted to go outside... there were so many other places to explore in that keep!

Anders opened the door and the cat pounced into the hallway. "Well, just come back in the morning, my little friend!" said the mage.

Soon, Anders fell asleep, while his feline friend explored the rest of the keep. Ser Pounce-a-lot smelled every corner, every wall and was very pleased that there were no signs of other cats in that building. There was only a very familiar mark, a smell that Ser Pounce-a-lot immediately recognized: the scent of mice. The keep seemed to be full of them!

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Anders was awakened by an insistent "Meow". The mage opened his eyes slowly and saw his new friend meowing loudly, in front of the bed - using all of its feline power.

"Maker's breath, kitty! What time is it?" whispered the man, as he tried to get up from the bed.

The cat stopped pouncing and stared curiously at the sleepy man. '_It's almost lunch time, according to my feline internal clock. Get up, you lazy human!_'

Anders looked at the window. He noticed that the sun had just started to rise in the sky. The mage immediately knew the time. It was six o'clock in the morning, according to the human clock standard convention, of course.

"Hungry, little fellow?" asked the mage as he slowly got up from the bed.

"Meow!" whispered the cat softly in a begging voice. '_Oh, yeah! I want some of that delicious milk! Feed me, human!_'

Anders started to dress himself slowly. He put on his mage robe, then he grabbed his favorite boots. But as he tried to put on his right boot, he felt that there was something inside it. He took it off, turned it upside down and shook it. Something fell out of his boot: a small lifeless creature... a dead mouse!

"Aaaaaaaah!" screamed Anders as he saw the dead mouse in front of him.

The cat started to purr happily. '_Here you go, my human friend. A gift of friendship. You give me your food, I'm sharing my mice with you!'_

"Bad kitty!" yelled the mage. "That's disgusting!"

"Meow!" said the cat in an offended tone. '_Hey! I was just trying to be nice here! Now eat it fast before it gets bad... you ungrateful human!_'

"Kitty... I don't want to see another dead mouse in my boot! Never!" yelled the man again.

"Meow!" whispered the cat sadly. '_Why? This place is full of these small rodents. I'm just doing my job. See... I'm a good cat... I catch mice. That's my purpose here, isn't it?_'

The man took a piece of cloth and gently wrapped the dead mouse in it. Then he opened the window and threw the mouse out of the room.

The cat looked desperately at the man. '_Nooooo! I spent half of the night watching that mouse until it eventually __came_ _out of its hole! Such a waste! I guess you don't like mice, human? I'm sorry but I cannot catch birds... it's not my specialty. I missed that lesson when I got lost from my mother... she was supposed to teach us how to catch birds the next day, before I... Never mind._'

"Let's go to the kitchen, kitty!" said Anders after he cleaned the inside of the boot. Then the mage put on another pair of boots and he walked toward the keep's kitchen, followed by his little fellow.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Anders was seated on a chair, in the keep's kitchen, drinking milk and eating cookies, while Ser Pounce-a-lot was greedily licking milk from a bowl, placed on the floor. A woman with chestnut hair came into the kitchen. She was wearing a heavy silvery armor, with a big griffon symbol on her breastplate.

"Good morning, Anders." said the woman as she approached them slowly.

"Mmmornig Commander!" said Anders with his mouth full.

As soon as the woman got closer to Anders, the cat immediately hissed at her and hid under a chair. '_I hate you, human female!_' hissed the little feline.

"I see that the cat... why are you hissing me, cat?" asked the woman in an annoyed voice.

Anders frowned and bent to look at the cat who was hissing from under his chair. "Ser Pounce-a-lot! Behave yourself! She's a nice lady, the Commander..."

The cat pushed out its claws and took an attack position. Its fur was all raised, its back was arched. '_The... bath... was her idea!_' hissed the cat.

Anders sighed deeply. "I think he still remembers the way you tried to throw him into the W. A. T. E. R."

"Oh... _that_! It was necessary!" said the Commander in an authoritative tone. "You had fleas, cat!" She got closer to the cat and bent in front of it.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot..." whispered Anders. "His name is Ser Pounce-a-lot."

"Ser Pounce-a-lot?" asked the woman. "That's an odd name... why in the Maker's name did you name it like th-"

But she didn't finish her sentence, because the cat made a surprising pounce and jumped over the woman, startling her. She fell on her back, on the ground, and made a deep moan.

Anders tried hard not to laugh. He bit his tongue hard. "Well... he does pounce a lot..."

The cat immediately climbed on a shelf and continued to hiss at the woman. Anders helped the Commander get up. "Are you hurt, Commander?"

The woman frowned and stared angrily at the cat. "Damn! Are you sure it's not a demon, Anders? I once met a demon that was disguised in a cat..."

The cat hissed again, angrily. '_Hey! I'm not a demon! I have no idea what a demon is, but I'm sure that I'm not such a... thing!' _Ser Pounce-a-lot raised his head proudly. _'I'm a proud and independent feline!'_

Anders got closer to the cat and raised his hands to grab it. "Behave yourself, Ser Pounce-a-lot! Or you won't get any milk!" he whispered.

The cat looked at the man and thought hard. '_Well, he does know my weakness... That delicious milk... so tempting! Dammit! I should play their game and be nice... just for a few more days._' Then Ser Pounce-a-lot jumped in the mage's arms and started to purr, acting suddenly like a cute and innocent cat.

"Seeeee, Commander... ", said the mage as he petted the cat gently, "it's just a scared cat... not a demon. I guarantee you that it's not possessed. Trust me, Commander!"

The woman raised an eyebrow as she stared skeptically at the mage and his feline friend. They seemed so... enraptured with each other. And the man _did_ look very happy. He deserved a little friend. "Well... I guess you know better about these demons... If you say so, Anders. So be it!"

She sighted deeply, then took a seat on the table and poured herself a glass of milk.

She took an oat cookie from a plate full of cookies. "It's Nathaniel Howe's joining today, in the evening. I'm so... terrified. Oh, I hope he'll make it, Anders!" Then she took a small bite from the cookie.

Anders got closer to the Commander and took a seat next to her, while he was petting the cat gently. The cat seemed to be calm now, purring happily.

"I hope that too, Commander." said the mage, in a worried voice.

The mage and his Commander chatted more that morning and the cat seemed to begin liking the human female. Ser Pounce-a-lot even let her pet him a little... but only for a few moments. And for an extra bowl full of milk, of course.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A man with grey hair was standing in front of a small table, mixing something in a chalice. He took a flask out of his pocket. A small piece of cheese also fell on the floor, together with the small flask. Then the man poured a dark red liquid out of flask, into the chalice, and mixed the ingredients again. He took the chalice in his hands and walked slowly toward the door. But as he made his first step, he was startled by something that jumped from the shadows. The man leaned to look closer and bent a little; he unintentionally spilled a small drop of the potion on the ground. The droplet of potion fell directly on the small piece of dry cheese. The man saw that there was a small creature hidden in the shadow, a scared mouse.

"Damn! This place is full of mice!" cursed the man as he immediately adjusted the chalice's position so that there was no more spilling from it. Then he walked slowly toward the exit and left the room, without closing the door. He was so focused on the task of holding the chalice as carefully as possible, that he did not see the tabby cat that had just entered the small Grey Warden vault.

"Ah, Varel! Finally! Is the joining potion ready?" asked a woman from a room that was linked directly to the vault.

The man with the grey hair approached the woman and three other men: a red-haired dwarf, a blond mage with a ponytail, and a dark-haired man. "Yes, Commander, here is the joining potion".

"Then let us proceed with Nathaniel's joining," ordered the woman.

A hungry small mouse was trembling, scared, in the darkness of the vault. It saw the small piece of cheese and was very excited by it. The cheese's scent was so powerful, so tempting... it was almost calling the small rodent to it! The mouse swallowed hard and took a deep breath, as it stared in the direction of the cheese. The human was in the other room, together with some others of his kind... the mouse could hear them well.

"_Let me recite the Joining speech, then, Commander." said the man with grey hair from the other room._

The mouse gathered all its rodent courage and ran fast towards the small piece of cheese. In a second, it got close to the delicious and tempting piece of dairy. Its mouth was watering in anticipation. The mouse took a deep breath of the smelly piece of cheese. Then it stopped and started to tremble, as it heard the human speak again.

"_Join us, brothers and sisters." said the human from the other room._

The mouse smelled the cheese again. It had a strange smell combined with the cheese scent.

"_Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant." continued the grey haired human._

The mouse smelled the piece of cheese for the third time; it had a suspicious odor. But its stomach made such a heavy noise! And the little rodent was very hungry... so terribly hungry that it did not see the tabby cat that was watching it from the shadow... vigilantly.

"_Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn." recited the human._

The small rodent looked again at the delicious food in front of it. That was a small piece of _cheese_, a delicacy - something that it had eaten only a few times in its small life - so the small rodent didn't think long before it devoured the delicious food. But as soon as the mouse ate the cheese, its body immediately started to tremble. It coughed hard, as the potion burned its throat. Its cough was so heavy that it did not see the cat who was slowly approaching it, as it crawled gently from the shadow. The little rodent started to tremble and its small eyes turned white. The cat was almost behind the mouse.

Suddenly, the feline jumped on the mouse and caught it in its sharp claws. '_I'm sorry, mouse. It is my feline duty to catch you...' _thought the cat as it heard the human from the other room speak again.

"_And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten..." continued the human._

The small mouse trembled a little more, as the poisonous taint killed it. The cat looked at the mouse in front of it. '_And it is also my job to eat you. May your sacrifice not be forgotten, mouse!_'

"_...and that one day, we shall join you." recited the human._

The tabby cat took a small bite from the dead mouse.

In the other room, a dark haired man drank from a chalice that had been given to him by the grey haired man. The man coughed hard, and fell on the floor, unconsciously.

As soon as the tainted blood of the mouse entered its mouth, Ser Pounce-a-lot felt its throat burning. He immediately started to cough hard. '_Oh, no! Hair ball! I hate these hair ba-_' Then his eyes turned white and his body trembled fast. He fell on the ground on his back and then it all went black.

"He lives, Commander." said the grey haired man. "The Howes are strong people."

The other humans sighed in relief, and each one of them returned to their duties.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot!" yelled the blond mage with ponytail as he entered the vault. "Where are you, kitty?"

The mage found the cat passed out in the Grey Warden's vault. He immediately checked its heartbeat. The cat was alive. The man sighed in relief, as he cast a small healing spell on his feline friend.

"Maker! You scared me to death, Ser Pounce-a-lot!" whispered the man as he took the cat in his arms. "Are you hurt, my friend? I'll have to check you for injuries."

The mage exited the vault slowly, ignoring the dead tainted rodent, laid on the floor. He was too focused on examining Ser Pounce-a-lot for possible injuries. There were no visible injuries. The cat seemed unharmed.

"Maybe you got poisoned?" asked the man worriedly. "I'll give you an antidote that works for almost all the basic poisons. Let's just go quickly to my room, my little friend."

And that day, nobody else but the Maker knew that the Grey Wardens had welcomed not one, but _two_ new members!

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_Ser Pounce-a-lot was running happily __in__ a field full of flowers. Suddenly, he felt something strange... he was not alone there! There was somebody else on that field. Darkspawn! And they seemed to keep walking in its way. 'No! Get away from me, you ugly creatures!' meowed the cat as it turned and started to run in the opposite direction, away from the darkspawn. But then he saw more darkspawn. Many of them. He tried to run to the left, but there were other darkspawn coming from that direction too. And soon Ser Pounce-a-lot suddenly realized __that he__ was surrounded by them!_

"Meeeeeeow!" said the cat loudly, as it woke up from its darkspawn nightmare. _'Damn you, ugly faces! I hate you... I hate you so much...' _hissed the cat as it fought some imaginary enemies.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot! You're awake, my little friend!" yelled Anders as he approached the confused cat.

The cat looked suspiciously at the happy man that was getting closer to it. "Meow!" '_I feel awful, my head hurts, my stomach is destroyed... what are they feeding these mice here? I won't eat another mouse again! No. More. Mice. For. Me. No. Thanks._'

"Come here, pretty kitty!" said Anders as he took the cat in his arms and petted it gently. "You scared me... I thought I'm going to lose you, kitty! I guess the antidote worked. You must have eaten something poisoned. I'm so glad that you're alright now, kitty."

The cat stared at the human for a few moments. There was something strange about that human. Something very peculiar, yet so familiar... like a blood bond. Like the human was its brother... a bigger cat, stupider, of course - because he could not understand the feline language - but still so... familiar. The cat started to purr happily. It felt so safe in that human's arms!

'_You and I are connected, my human friend. I don't know how... and it doesn't matter. But I think that this looks like the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Ha! Who would have thought that would ever happen? Me and a human... friends! I guess this is my home now... I don't want to go away from here... My home... this sounds so nice... __**My**_ _**home**__!_' purred Ser Pounce-a-lot as he rubbed himself to Anders's clothes.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_**A/N**__: No real mouse actually got hurt. This is just a story. If anybody doesn't like the idea of a cat eating a mouse, I deeply apologize... but that's just the way life is!_


	4. The Territory

_**I apologize for this huge delay in updating my story. I promise that I will finish this story as soon as possible. This is not an abandoned story, Se Pounce-a-lot still has a lot more pouncing on his to-do list!**_

_**This chapter is NOT beta-read yet, so please don't let a few spelling or grammar errors make you miss the essential. I promise that I'll publish the corrected version as soon as I'll have it beta-readed.**_

**The Territory**

Ser Pounce-a-lot was sitting peacefully, curled like a ball, on a small woolen carpet in Anders's room. Over the last two months, he had lived well, his new friend had treated him nicely. Life was good!

He had traveled with the Warden party every day, hidden in Anders's sack. They had traveled a lot, to many places, they had fought all kinds of things: darkspawn, abominations, bandits. He was very proud of Anders, his human mage friend. The man could freeze things, throw fireballs! Ser-Pounce-a-lot was very impressed by him. He got up from the carpet and walked slowly towards the bed where his human friend was sleeping. Anders was a kind man, who took care of his feline friend. As Ser-Pounce-a-lot watched his friend sleeping, he started to purr happily. He could not understand this strange human schedule! Why were they sleeping at night? Cats don't sleep at night. It was a strange thing for him, a very strange thing. He watched Anders sleeping for a few more moments, then he walked towards the door, quickly jumped on the latch, opening it, and left the room.

Over the last two months, Ser-Pounce-a-lot had made the Keep his territory. He smelled each corner of the Keep again, checking if his male scent was still present. Then, Ser-Pounce-a-lot walked slowly towards the kitchen. As he reached the kitchen, he stopped for a moment and looked curiously at the big obstacle that was blocking the kitchen's door. There was a small harry human passed out on the floor, right in front of the door, blocking the entrance. He decided to ignore the dwarf and quickly pounced over him, then he started to carefully check all the corners of the kitchen. Some corners needed refreshment, so he turned and marked them quickly. Then, he walked to the passed out human and smelled him. The human stunk of a very annoying scent that reminded him of a place he had visited some time ago: a brewery. A very disturbing scent that was covering his feline male scent. So he did what he would normally do in that situation: he walked slowly towards the human's boots and he marked them. After he had checked again that the whole territory had been marked properly, the feline Warden left the kitchen proudly.

Next morning, Anders placed his feline friend into his traveling sack, as usual. He walked outside the Keep where the other Wardens were waiting for him. Ser-Pounce-a-lot took his head out of the sack and looked curiously at the other humans that were waiting for Anders in the Keep's yard. There was a small harry human dressed in metal clothes, a black haired human man dressed in leather clothes, a tall human woman in shining metal clothes, a small human woman with pointed ears, dressed summary, in some small leather clothes, a very pale human, stinking of dead meat and a small human woman with many marks on her face.

"I think we are all now. Let's go!" ordered the woman dressed in shining metal clothes.

Everyone obeyed the order and the party left the Keep. Ser-Pounce-a-lot thought that it was time for a small nap, so he curled like a ball inside Anders's sack. But as he heard some noise, he got his head out of the sack. His curiosity could not let him sleep. It was the small harry human.

That small stinky human had a lot of hair on his face. He had four tails, but not on his back, as cats do, he had them on his face! The small human was walking in Anders's direction, holding a big ax on his shoulder. He was walking strangely, dangling almost falling; the way he managed to carry that big ax on his shoulder in his condition was a big mystery! He heard the small human talking, so he pricked up his ears.

"And people talk about me stinking up the joint!¹" said the little harry human.

"What are you on about, now?¹" asked Anders.

"Cat piss! Little kitty there makes me want to vomit!¹" answered the little human in an angry tone.

Ser Pounce-a-lot growled as he looked angrily at the harry dwarf. '_At least I don't smell like a brewery, you harry little human!' _ hissed the cat in Oghren's direction.

Anders smiled then looked at his angry feline friend. "Don't listen to him, Ser Pounce-a-lot! You smell just fine.¹ "

"Meow!¹" answered Ser-Pounce-a-lot calming down. '_Thank you, my human friend._' Then he decided to forget the small incident and got inside the sack for a little nap. But as he curled in a ball position again, he heard another voice coming from behind Anders. He got his head out of the sack and saw a black haired man wearing leather clothes walking close to Anders.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot did not know much about that blacked haired man. He heard the other humans calling him Nate. He was a very good archer. He had saved Anders's life many times with his quick arrows. For that reason, Ser-Pounce-a-lot had a lot of respect for the black haired man.

"You seem rather attached to that cat, Anders.¹" said the black haired man.

"It's more that he is rather attached to me. Isn't that right, Ser Pounce-a-lot?¹" replied Anders.

"(Meow!)¹" '_I never thought this could be possible, but you are my family now, my human friend._' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot happily.

"Isn't that name a little... ridiculous?¹" asked the man in an ironical tone.

"What do you think I should call him? Frederick?¹" replied Anders intrigued.

'_No, no. Frederick sounds so... human. I think Ser-Pounce-a-lot was a brilliant choice. It's noble and it sounds... well... it's just perfect for a proud and independent feline like myself!_' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot.

The black haired man sighted. "There are worse names, I suppose...¹"

"Meow!" '_And I'm also so good at this pouncing thing! Yes, the name definitely fits me well. _' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot, then he decided to get inside the sack and take a nap no matter what.

After a few minutes of sleep, Ser-Pounce-a-lot woke up suddenly. There was a lot of noise outside. The humans were battling somebody... or something. He stayed still for a few moments, then his curiosity won and he decided he should take his head out of the sack to watch the fight. It was a dangerous thing to do, as he was frightened, but his feline curiosity was too strong.

The humans were fighting darkspawn. Many of them. They were surrounded, but they were fighting bravely. The tall warrior woman wearing metal clothes was holding a big sword and was fighting an ogre, close to Anders. On her left, the paled human warrior was fighting a darkspawn emissary. Anders and the small mage woman were casting healing spells on the warriors. Behind Anders, the black haired man was shooting arrows towards the darkspawn crowd. The small humans, the harry one and the woman with tattoos on her face, were also behind Anders, fighting a crowd of darkspawn. They seemed outnumbered and there were many other darkspawn coming from all the directions. Suddenly, one of the darkspawn jumped behind Anders. But as he tried to stab the mage with a dagger, he got startled by a little tabby creature that pounced out of the mage's sack and ran into a bush. The shock made the darkspawn lose his balance and fall on his back. He was immediately decapitated by the pale warrior that was fighting close to Anders. After a few more minutes of fighting, the Wardens managed to kill all the darkspawn and win the battle.

Anders got closer to the bush where a scared tabby cat was hidden.

"Come Ser-Pounce-a-lot. It is over. Are you hurt, little fellow?" asked the mage in a worried tone.

"Meow!"'_I'm fine. Damn that ugly creature! It scared me to dead! Next time one of this ugly creatures tries to kill me, I'll get my claws out and scratch it well!_' meowed the cat as it slowly got out of the bush.

Anders checked his little fellow for injuries. Fortunately, the cat was not hurt, only badly scarred.

"Thanks, Justice." said Anders to the pale human warrior.

"You're welcome." answered the warrior.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot looked curiously at the big warrior that smelled like dead meat. He heard the others say that he was a spirit, trapped inside a dead man's body. That was a little... freaky and unhealthy. Another human mystery that he could not understand.

"I see that your feline companion remains with you.¹" said the Spirit.

"He seems happy enough. Isn't that right, Ser Pounce-a-lot?¹" replied the mage.

"Meow!¹" '_Well... yes, I'm happy. Although I think I could use a bowl or two of milk after this bad experience._'

"To enslave another creature does not seem just.¹" stated the Spirit in a harsh tone.

"He's not a slave! He's a friend. And he's also a cat.¹" answered Anders in a defensive tone.

"A cat that lacks freedom.¹" said the Spirit harshly.

'_Hey! You're so wrong, Spirit! I'm not a slave, I'm a proud and independent feline! I like this human mage, that's why I consider him my friend!_' hissed the cat in Justice's direction.

Anders sighted deeply. "Just ignore him, Ser Pounce-a-lot. They don't have pets in the Fade, apparently.¹"

"Meow!¹" '_Apparently not. And who is he to judge you for having a feline companion? Ah... spirits!_' meowed Ser-Pounce-a-lot angrily. 

Justice left the mage and his friend and walked towards the tall woman wearing metal clothes. Anders started to pet his feline friend, which was purring happily. The little dwarf woman approached the mage and his cat. Ser Pounce-a-lot studied her curiously. She had some interesting marks on her face. Why was her face painted? It was another human mystery that his feline mind could not understand. She got closer to Ser-Pounce-a-lot and started to pet him too.

"You seem fascinated with Ser Pounce-a-lot.¹" said Anders.

"Meow!¹" '_Hm... I think my feline charm still works well. I like having more human fans._' purred the cat happily.

"We don't have cats in Orzammar. Well, maybe some nobles have them, if they buy them from a surface merchant.¹" answered the dwarf woman.

"Everyone needs a pet.¹" said Anders, smiling.

"Well, I had a nug once. For about an hour. Before my uncle slaughtered him and ate him.¹"

'_Ouch!_' meowed the cat.

"Gather your things and let's leave this place at once. We'll burn the dead bodies when we return." ordered the tall warrior woman.

The party immediately left the valley full of dead darkspawn.

Anders petted Ser-Pounce-a-lot for a few more seconds, then he placed the cat back into his sack. Ser-Pounce-a-lot got his head out of the sack and looked curiously at the other traveling companions. That strange woman, the elf mage, was walking next to Anders.

"My fireballs are bigger than yours.¹" said the elf woman.

"It's not the size that counts, Velanna.¹" answered Anders.

"Did they tell you that in your Circle? They were trying not to hurt your feelings.¹" replied Velanna in an ironical tone.

"The Circle lied to me? Andraste's sword, my world is falling apart! I have been unmanned!¹" said Anders.

Ser Pounce-a-lot watched the elf woman curiously. She was another mystery to him, always grumpy, she didn't seem to like anybody. She was a mage, like his human friend... but she was different from Anders. Much different.

And then there was the tall warrior human female. The one everyone was following, the one that was always giving orders. The Commander... the alpha female. Ser Pounce-a-lot watched the Commander smiling a little after she heard Anders's and Velanna's conversation. She looked tough... but Ser-Pounce-a-lot sensed the suffering from inside her heart. She was a strong and beautiful human female. Over the last two months since he had joined the Warden's party, Ser-Pounce-a-lot had noticed that Anders had a crush on the Commander. But she seemed broken, always so sad.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot saw the Commander searching for something in her sack. She smiled as she found the thing that she had searched for.

"I found this sometime ago. I think you would find it useful. Here you go, Anders." said the Commander as she handed Anders a small collar belt.

"For me? Thanks..." answered Anders very surprised.

"It's for your feline friend." continued the Commander.

"Oh, a cat collar belt! Thanks so much, Commander! I'll put it on Ser-Pounce-a-lot immediately." said Anders in an enthusiastic tone.

"You're welcome, Anders." replied the Commander as she watched Anders putting Ser-Pounce-a-lot the collar belt on.

"You think she likes me, Ser Pounce-a-lot? She's still in love with him... that bastard that broke her heart." whispered Anders in Ser-Pounce-a-lot's ear.

"Meow!" '_Well... females are... complicated. But I think you should give it a try, my human friend._' meowed Ser-Pounce-a-lot.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

It was already dark when the Warden party returned to the Keep after they had fought four more darkspawn parties. Ser-Pounce-a-lot pounced out of Anders's sack and immediately started to inspect the Keep's yard for his territorial marks. But he was very surprised to find three cats waiting for him in a darker corner of the Keep. It was Blacky the Ripper and his two companions, Tiger and Beauty.

"Look at him... he's got a collar belt! He's a '_pet_'!" meowed the big black tomcat.

"Meow! Pet! He's a pet! He's got a _master_!' meowed the tigerish cat.

"Hello to you too, Blacky." answered Ser-Pounce-a-lot. "No, not a master. I've got a human friend... a powerful mage." meowed Ser-Pounce-a-lot raising his head proudly.

"Hey, Dirt Sack, you look different... you're a tabby?" asked the black cat in a mocking tone.

"What's the matter, Dirt Sack, did your master _wash you_?" meowed the tigerish cat.

"Ha ha ha! His master washed him!" laughed the female piebald cat.

"No, he did not!" answered Ser-Pounce-a-lot in a defensive tone. "I've already told that he's a mage... a _powerful_ one. He can spit _fire_, throw light-bolts, freeze people... that sort of _dangerous_ things... He also knows a... "_flea treatment_" spell. That's right, Flee Bag, no more _fleeeeas_!"

"He can spit fire? I... I hate _fire_!" said the tigerish, scared.

"Really? No more fleas?" asked the piebald cat.

"Ha, such LIES!" hissed Blacky. "Now, I'm going to show you who the boss is! Prepare yourself to be ripped apart, Dirt Sack!" hissed the big black cat as he arched his back, raised his fur, and turned sideways.

"We'll see about who's going to rip who apart, Fat Sack!" hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he arched his back and raised his fur too, almost doubling his size. He took his claws out, lowered its ears and made a threatening bawl.

The two tomcats roared at each other for a few moments, then the black cat attacked Ser-Pounce-a-lot and scratched his left ear.

"I'm going to turn you into dog food, Dirt Sack!" hissed the big black cat.

"You're welcome to try, Fatty!" hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot back. Then, he attacked Blacky and scratched his left ear too.

The other two cats, the tigerish and the piebald, watched as the two tomcats were fighting each other. The big black cat gathered all his strength and ran in Ser-Pounce-a-lot's direction like a raged animal. But as he was about to bite Ser-Pounce-a-lot's tail, the tabby feline pounced on Blacky's head, made a double turn jump and got behind the big black cat. The black cat looked surprised at the fast tabby cat. When did he become so fast? He had defeated Ser-Pounce-a-lot two months ago. He had bit his tail badly and had won the fight using that dirty trick. Suddenly, Blacky felt an extreme pain that almost paralyzed his whole body. He looked surprised behind him and saw Ser-Pounce-a-lot biting his tail.

"Ouch!" meowed Blacky. "It hurts so badly!"

"Now we're even." meowed Ser-Pounce-a-lot. "Run back to your territory. If I ever see you again in my Keep, I'll bite your ears badly too."

"I'll never come here. I promise!" meowed the scared black cat as he ran away, followed by the tigerish one.

The piebald female smiled seductively.

"Well, well. Look who's stronger now. Nice fight, Handsome!" she said in a husky voice. "Visit me... next mating season, Sugar!" she said as she moved seductively closer to him.

"Oh... sure, Hotty!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot in a husky voice, as he gazed at the piebald beauty who left the Keep, heading for the village.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Ser-Pounce-a-lot started his nightly round through the Keep, inspecting all the corners, as usual. He finally arrived at the kitchen and was surprised to find the harry little human there, this time sitting at a table and awaken.

"Cat..." whispered the drunken dwarf as he noticed the proud feline entering the kitchen.

_'Ugly creature with four tails...' _meowed Ser-Pounce-a-lot.

"You stink... you pissed on my boots, cat!" yelled the smelly dwarf.

_'Oh, like you smell better! Brewery!'_ hissed the cat. '_This is my territory. That's the way I mark it... using my urine._'

"Hey, don't you hiss at me, you little nug!" threaten the little human.

"_I don't know what a nug is, but it doesn't sound nice at all... I've already told you that I'm a proud feline..._" the cat raised his right paw and took an attacking position, with his claws already out.

"What? You want to fight me? Just try it... you'll make a delicious nug stew!" said Oghren as he slowly got up, lifted his big ax and prepared to attack the cat.

Suddenly, the cat pounced on Oghren's head and startled him. His action made the dwarf lose his balance and he fell on his back, hitting the floor; he immediately passed out.

" Meow!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot. _ 'Ha! You're not so though, aren't you? Now, let's mark my territory again...'_ hissed the cat as he urinated on Oghren's boots.

'_Well... no heart feelings. I'll catch you a mouse too... as a gift of peace. You'll have a big fat mouse in your favorite boot by the end of the day, you harry little human._' thought the cat as it walked away from the passed out dwarf.

Next day, Oghren decided to change his boots, because they were smelling badly. But as he tried to put on another pair, he saw something moving inside his left boot. It was a small living creature: a scared dizzy mouse. At the sight of the small rodent, the dwarf screamed. After some howls of rage that had broken a few windows, the dwarf started to destroy the furniture from his room, as he tried to kill the poor mouse with his giant ax.

Somewhere in the Keep, on a soft woolen carpet, a cat was sleeping peacefully and innocently. He heard the dwarf's angry howls and decided to ignore them. He covered his ears with his paws and continued to sleep peacefully.

_**A/N:** ¹ These dialogue lines are the same as the original character banters from DA-Awakening._

_Please let me know your thoughts. Please review. Thanks for reading this chapter._

_Next chapter will be available soon, in less than a week, I hope._


	5. A Friend in Need

_**This chapter is NOT beta-read yet, so please don't let a few spelling or grammar errors make you miss the essential. I promise that I'll publish the corrected version as soon as I'll have it beta-readed.**_

**Chapter 5: A Friend in Need**

The Warden party was traveling slowly through a deep forest. It was autumn and the heavy rain made the road muddy, difficult to walk. The Warden Commander was leading the party, as usual, followed by the pale warrior and the small female rogue. Anders and Vellana were walking slowly behind them, flanked by Nathaniel on their left and and Oghren on their right. Ser-Pounce-a-lot was sleeping peacefully, enjoying a good nap in Anders's backpack, as always, of course.

Suddenly, the party was surrounded by darkspawn. They seemed to come from everywhere, from behind them, from their right, from their left; they were immediately overwhelmed by them.

"Defend the mages and the archer!" screamed the Warden Commander as she took out her sword and shield.

The other Wardens immediately formed a circle, placing the two mages and Nathaniel in the middle. It was their standard fighting technique, the warriors were defending the two mages and the archer from melee attacks, while Anders was casting healing spells continuously and Vellana was attacking the darkspawn with light-bolts, fireballs, winter-grasps... whatever came in handy for her. Nathaniel's quick and poisonous arrows were putting down the darkspawn mages and emissaries, as usual, of course.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot opened his eyes slowly. There was a fight out there. Again. The fifth that day. What in the Maker's name were they searching there, in the darkspawn' nest? Where the humans that stupid? Why did they have to search and destroy all the ugly and disgusting darkspawn in that cold forest? But he could not do it... he just could not stay hidden in there... he had to see it... he had to have a look at the fight.

'_Damn my feline curiosity!_' hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot angrily as he took his head out of the sack.

And then he saw something that made his little heart instantly froze. A big disgusting darkspawn was approaching his human friend from behind, with a big sword in his right hand.

"Meow!" screamed Ser-Pounce-a-lot with all his feline power. '_Look out, my human friend! Behind you!_'

But the human did not understand his feline language. The mage continued to cast healing spells on the wounded Warden Commander. The ugly darkspawn came closer... and closer.

"Meow!" screamed Ser-Pounce-a-lot. '_He's behind you! Attacked him!_'

The mage ignored him again.

Suddenly, Ser-Pounce-a-lot's heart started to beat fast, like it wanted to escape from his chest and run away. His human friend did not understand his warnings. It was useless. No! It was hopeless. He froze again for a few moments. But suddenly, a quick idea came to his mind and he opened his eyes wide, trying his sweet and innocent feline trick on the ugly darkspawn. Unfortunately, the ugly beast wasn't looking in his way. Instead, it was approaching the mage fast and was just about to stab Anders with its big sword.

In just a second, Ser-Pounce-a-lot saw his whole feline life in his mind: he had been born in a small village near a forest, together with his other five brothers and sisters. When he was two months old, he got lost from his mother, brothers and sisters. He had roamed the roads ever since until he was found by his human mage friend... Anders. His friend. His _human_ friend. The one who was about to be killed by the ugly beast. The mage was in great danger. Ser-Pounce-a-lot felt that he had to do something about it. His friend could not die! He could not let that happen!

'_Nobody attacks my human friend and lives!_' hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he pounced out of Anders's sack directly on the darkspawn's head, startling him and making him lose its balance. The big beast immediately fell on its back. Ser-Pounce-a-lot made a double spin and landed on the darkspawn's face. He started to scratch the beast's nose with his sharp claws.

'_Take that, you ugly beast! And that, and that..._' hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he scratched the darkspawn continuously.

The noise produced by the falling darkspawn made Anders turn quickly. The mage opened his mouth wide, as he was shocked by what he just saw: his feline friend was actually fighting a darkspawn! The cat was hissing and scratching the darkspawn's nose with all his feline power. Anders just froze for a few moments, just staring and not believing his eyes.

"Ser-Pounce-a-lot! Get away from it! Pounce my friend, just pounce away from it!" yelled the mage after he recovered from the shock.

'_No! He's mine. Go get yourself another darkspawn!_' hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he continued to attack the darkspawn.

Suddenly, the beast grabbed the cat in its big hand and tried to squeeze it. But the feline was fast and agile, and it immediately slipped from its hand and pounced into a bush nearby.

The darkspawn slowly got up from the ground and tried to follow the fast feline. After a few steps, he stopped suddenly and made a deep moan as its body started to burn from Anders's lighting bolt. An arrow immediately hit his body also, killing him instantly.

"Ser-Pounce-a-lot! Come here, you little tiger!" said Anders as he approached the feline which was hidden in a bush. "I guess I managed to make a real warrior out of you, my little friend."

"Meow!" whispered a trembling Ser-Pounce-a-lot from the bush. '_I... I did it... I saved you, my human friend._'

"Are you hurt, little fellow?" asked the mage as he took the cat in his arms and started to check it for injuries. "You're alright, just scared. Damn! You really scratched that darkspawn's nose until it bleed! I'll have to give you a potion that prevents you from getting sick. The taint from the darkspawn's blood might kill you."

The mage put the cat slowly on the ground, then he started to search for something in his potion bag.

"There it is! A mabari potion!" said the mage holding a flask in his right hand. The small flask was full with a green liquid. "It must be used immediately. Now... be a good boy and drink it, my little friend." said the mage, as he opened the flask.

A powerful herbal scent, coming from the direction of the flask, immediately reached Ser-Pounce-a-lot's nose, making him take a step backwards.

"Meow!" hissed Ser-Pounce-a-lot. '_You want me to drink that? A mabari potion? Don't you know that I'm a cat? A proud and independent feline! I despise all the dogs... these ugly, big... disgusting... flee bags. And you want me to drink a mabari potion? No way!_' The cat immediately pounced out of the bush and ran fast toward another bush, a few steps further.

"Wait! You need to drink this or else..." said Anders, but then he stopped and smirked, "... How about a plate full of milk? Hm? Would you like that?"

"Meow!" whispered the scared cat as he slowly got out of the bush. '_Hmmm... a plate full of that delicious milk... now, that's much better, my human friend!_'

Anders poured some milk in a plate that he just got out of his supply bag, then he gently opened the mabari potion flask, and added it to the milk.

"Here you go, my little friend." said the mage as he placed the plate full of milk on the ground, near the cat.

The hungry cat immediately drank the whole milk from the plate.

'_Hm... delicious. Although it did have a suspicious herbal flavor... oh, well, it must have been the bottle. Maybe it was used for health potions and the human did not wash it well..._' thought the cat as he licked his feline whiskers that were full of milk.

"Well... I guess your feline friend just saved your life out there, Anders." said the tall woman wearing shining metal clothes.

"Yes. He actually did." answered Anders, smiling.

"That little nug has some warrior blood in it! I guess I underestimated it..." said the drunken dwarf.

"What a sweet thing he just did there! Saving his master's life... " said the dwarf female.

"I think I understand now what friendship and loyalty are... To protect the one you love... " said the walking dead warrior.

"So, the little cat is turning into a feline mabari now?" said Nathaniel sarcastically.

"Hm... he was just lucky!" said the grumpy elf woman.

Anders smiled and took his feline friend in his arms, hugging him and petting him slowly.

"Thank you, my friend." said the mage to his feline friend.

"Meow!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot. '_Well... somebody had to save your life, my human friend. I'm just glad you're well._' purred the cat happily.

The Wardens burned the darkspawn bodies, cleaned their weapons and armors, then they left the battlefield, heading for a cave.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The Warden party was traveling through the Deep Roads, a cold and dark place, not Ser-Pounce-a-lot's most favorite one.

'_What are we doing in these mouse holes? What are these humans searching for?_' thought Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he purred happily in Anders's bag.

But his curiosity won again and he took his head out of Anders's backpack and watched around. The place was full of some giant statues, carved out of stone. They all resembled the smelly dwarf and the rogue female. Ser-Pounce-a-lot remembered some of the information that he somehow gathered from the humans conversation. Those tunnels used to be the home of the small humans, the ones named 'dwarves'.

'_Ttttt! Smaller humans, bigger egos!_' thought Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he studied the huge statues.

Suddenly, a strange creature with long ears jumped out of a small cave and ran away. Ser-Pounce-a-lot's heart immediately froze.

'_What's that? A giant rabbit? Or is it a mouse? No, no, no! I hate this! I don't like mice that are bigger than me!_' hissed the cat, annoyed.

"Hey! Look! There's a nug, Commander." said the hairy dwarf. "Maybe we could find more and make a delicious nug stew."

"I think we should camp here." said the Commander.

The party stopped and everybody started to unpack. Anders took Ser-Pounce-a-lot out of his backpack and petted him slowly.

"How are you feeling, my little friend? Do you need anything? I hope you did not get tainted..." asked the mage in a concerned voice.

"Meow!" '_I'm fine, thanks. Although, I could use a plate full of that delicious milk..._' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot happily.

"I have this strange feeling... it's like you have some taint in your blood, but you're not sick, just immune to it, like a... like a real Warden." said Anders, confused.

"Meow!" '_No! I'm fine, just a little hungry..._' said Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he made a poor kitty face and begged for food.

"Oh... hungry, little fellow?" said the mage as he took a bottle of milk out of his sack.

"Meow!" '_Oh yeah... I'm so hungry I could eat a giant rabbit... mouse... whatever was that creature. Oh yes, a nug. I'm so hungry that I could eat a nug._' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot.

"Here you go, my little friend." said Anders as he poured some milk on a plate that he just got out of his sack.

"I see you take good care of your little friend, Anders." said the tall warrior woman as she approached the mage.

"Yes, Commander. He's my little friend, my little hero. He saved my life today." answered the mage as he shyly watched the beautiful woman that was getting closer.

"You've got a good heart, Anders." said the woman again. "I'm glad we found your little friend."

"I wanted to thank you... Commander. For letting me keep it... him." said the mage, blushing.

"Don't mention it, Anders. You deserve to be happy." said the woman, blushing too. Anders noticed that her green eyes were shining so beautifully, her long curly brown hair was lose, hanging__down to her waist, her smile just took him his breath way.

"Thank you... I'm so grateful... I only wish I could do something for you, Commander. I wish I could thank you somehow..." said Anders, smiling.

The woman blushed harder. She felt her heart beating faster in her chest. "You saved my life plenty of times by healing my deep wounds, Anders. There is nothing to thank me for, Anders." whispered the woman in a very soft voice, not her usual commanding tone. "I think I should go help Nate with the camp fire... " said the woman, practically running away from the handsome mage that was making her heart melt.

"Of course, Commander." said the mage, getting all sad and looking at the ground. He started to pet Ser-Pounce-a-lot again.

"Do you think I'll ever get a chance to tell her what I feel about her, Ser-Pounce-a-lot?" whispered Anders to the cat.

"Meow!" '_Well... maybe you should try next mating season... it's how cats do... I don't know much about the humans, but I see that human females are... complicated._' purred Ser-Pounce-a-lot.

"I think she still loves him... the king. Although he broke up with her... just after the Landsmeet... before he became king." whispered Anders to his feline friend.

"Meow!" '_Aha! So you've got competition! You should fight him, your competitor, you should fry his royal ass_.' purred the cat.

"Hey, mage!" said the drunken dwarf.

"What is it, Oghren?" said Anders as he turned to face the dwarf that was holding a bottle half full of booze.

"Women are drawn to you when you play with that cat.¹ " said the dwarf.

Anders smiled. "Like moths to a flame. Women like it when men show affection for small, fuzzy, defenseless beings. Like you.¹ "said the mage.

The dwarf drank again from the bottle."Stupid... mage. Every time I pull something out of my robes, the women just flee.¹ "

Anders burst out laughing. The dwarf drank again from the bottle, then he walked away bumbling something about a nug stew.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

After a full week of traveling and killing thousands of darkspawn, the Warden party finally returned to the Keep. Ser-Pounce-a-lot was thanking to the Maker, in his feline language, of course, grateful that the humans had finally came to their senses and decided to end their suicidal trip into the Deep Roads.

'Oh... home sweet home! Home at last! Well... it's about time! Somebody has a lot of corners to mark! I need to make a full inspection of my territory, but after a plate full of milk, of course.' thought Ser-Pounce-a-lot as the party was entering the Keep's yard.

They were immediately greeted by some guards and a young servant girl.

"My lady, I have some important news." said the servant, after she made a small bow to the Warden Commander.

"What is it, Grace?" asked the Commander.

"It's from the king, my lady... he's... he's here at the Keep. He's expecting you. It's urgent." said the shy servant, in a worried voice.

"His majesty is here?" asked the Commander. "Let's not lose any more time. Let's just go inside immediately." ordered the Commander.

The Wardens rushed immediately into the Keep, where the king of Ferelden was expecting them.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_**A/N:** ¹ These dialogue lines are the same as the original character banters from DA-Awakening._

_Please let me know your thoughts. Please review. Thanks for reading this chapter._


	6. Farewell, My Friend

_**Words can hardly say how deeply sorry I am for this huge delay... I apologize and I promise that I will complete this story. It is my duty to my favorite feline DAA character to finish this story! I shall do the impossible and complete this story soon! **_

_**I'm looking for a Beta Reader, please contact me if you would like to help me improve my spelling and grammar. I accept any constructive critique that could help me evolve as a writer. Thanks in advance!**_

**Chapter 6: Farewell, My Friend**

The Warden's Commander office was a small room with a wooden desk and two small chairs. Four shelves were suspended on the wall behind the desk. A woman, wearing the Warden Commander clothes was sitting on a chair behind the wooden desk. In front of her, there was a man wearing shining golden clothes and a golden crown on his head;he was also seated on a chair. A cat was hidden on the lower shelf, staring at the man and the woman.

"I need your help, Elissa... please." begged the man.

"I have my duty as Warden Commander, your majesty." answered the woman coldly. "We still have to track the other darkspawn and the Architect..."

"I know, but this is more important, Elissa." said the king. "I need your help with the nobles and Orlais.. Now that Amaranthine is safe after the Architect's attack, I think the Orleasian Warden should replace you."

"But what about the rebuilding of the Keep..." the woman sighted deeply. "If your majesty commands..."

"I don't... I mean.. . Look, Elissa... I know that I don't deserve this... I know that I hurt you deeply, but I need your help as _my friend_. You're one of the few people that I can trust. I need your diplomatic skills. _Ferelden_ needs you in Denerim, as my new Chancellor."

'_Persuasion successful!_' thought the tabby cat as he looked at the woman who slowly raised from the desk and made a few steps towards a small window that was hardly lightening the room. She stared on the window for a few moments, than sighted deeply and returned to face the king.

"Very well, your majesty. I'll do as you requested."

"Perfect. We'll leave for Denerim in a few hours." said the man as he raised from the chair. "And Elissa... thank you."

"You're welcome... your majes-.. Alistair." said the woman. "I'll start packing my things now."

And then the man left the room, ignoring the tabby cat that just sneaked outside after him.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Many things had happened since the king arrived at Vigil's Keep. People were whispering in every tavern, gossiping about the new royal orders: Elissa Cousland, the former Warden Commander of Ferelden, the Hero that had ended the Blight and saved the city of Amaranthine, had just left Vigil's Keep with the king. She had just been released from her duty as Warden Commander and had been assigned as the new Royal Chancellor, the king's new right hand. The people were intrigued about how quickly the Warden Commander just left Vigil's Keep. A servant from the keep said that the king had just come to Vigil's Keep, spoke for a few hours with the Warden Commander, and then Elissa Cousland had just packed her things and left with the royal party in hurry.

Amaranthine's tavern was full of gossips about the king's supposed affair with the Warden... everybody knew about the way king Alistair broke up with Elissa Cousland just after she named him king at the Landsmeet. Some people were saying that the king came to apologize to the Cousland and beg her to take him back... well, at least so did the rumors say. Others said that the king needed the Cousland's help in Denerim, that he needed someone he could trust. Some women from the tavern were envying the Warden for her supposed affair with the king, others were afraid that he would break her heart again. A woman even dared to say that the king should definitely marry Elissa. It was the top news in the city at that moment.

There was another gossip too... not so popular, but still a new subject for discussion: the king had just assigned a new Warden Commander... an Orlesian one. He was supposed to arrive at the Keep in two days. Some people said that Empress Celine sent him... as a spy, of course. Others said that he was a great hero, a fearless leader and a respectable man. A drunken Orleasian tradesman that just happen to be in the tavern even said that he personally knew the newly assigned Warden Commander. He told everyone that the Warden had a hound, a black fearsome beast that could kill _seven_ darkspawn in an instant with his giant claws! Then, suddenly, the whole conversation changed and the top news was not the previous or the new Warden Commander, but the giant black hound... the fearless darkspawn killer.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The sun was shyly lightening a small room in the Vigil's Keep where a blond man wearing mage clothes was sitting on an armchair with a cat in his arms. The mage looked at the floor and sighted deeply.

'_Humans are so strange._' purred the cat softly in the man's arms.

Anders continued to pet the cat slowly. He sighted again and stared at the floor.

'_Females_... _ just too complicated._' purred the cat again.

The mage did not say a word, he just continued to pet the cat slowly.

'_Although, I think you should have fought him... your competitor. That's how cats handle their conflicts. We fight for the female... And the best man wins her!_ ' meowed the cat softly.

A tear just felt from the man's right eye on the cat's fur.

'_Wait... what is this? Why do your eyes shine so strongly? What are you doing? Is that... no! Can't be! Is it... WATER? Why are your eyes producing water? What is this trick? Hey! I don't like this!_' mewed the cat as he changed his position and forced the man to look at him.

"Hungry... little... fellow?" whispered the mage in a sad voice as he watched the cat pouncing from his arms.

_'Yes...a little hungry... but I think that it could wait a little. We have work to do. We're going after her!We are not giving up!' _meowed the cat as he started to scratch a massive wooden door with his sharp claws.

"Where do you want to go, my friend?" whispered the mage.

'_Out! We are going out! It's been two days since she's gone and we are just staying here in this room! This isn't healthy! You... We need fresh air... food... I know! Let's go out and find you another female! There are other women out there, you know._' meowed the cat in a very determinate voice.

"The new Warden Commander will arrive soon. I just hope he likes mages... I hope he's someone who will understand me... just like she did... " another tear just fell from Anders's eye. The mage opened the door and stepped out of the room followed by his feline friend.

_'Yeah... I just hope he likes cats... ' _mewed Set-Pounce-a-lot as he pounced a few steps in front of Anders.

Suddenly, Ser-Pounce-a-lot felt a powerful scent... a very unpleasant one. His little heart froze and his fur got all raised up. He remembered well that annoying smell... it was the scent of a disgusting dog... and the source of the scent was just coming their way... faster and faster.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Gerald LeGrand was a tall and well made man around thirty years old. He was black-haired and had a thin Orleasian mustache... the current trend in Orlais at that time. Gerald was walking proudly on the streets of Amaranthine... his new home. Two days ago he had been officially named the new Warden Commander of Ferelden by the king's orders. It all happened so fast... he had received a letter from the king of Ferelden one week ago. The letter announced him that his presence was requested in Denerim... for some kingly business. He could not refuse the king's offer... to become Warden Commander! It was a dream that just became true! Gerald was very happy and very confident that he would do a lot of good things as a Warden Commander. He was followed by his faithful mabari... Diable¹, a black hound with white stripes.

"Let's hurry, Diable! The other Wardens are expecting us! We have a lot of work to do!" ordered Gerald and Diable just obeyed silently.

They started to walk faster and, in a few hours, the man and his hound had reached Vigil's Keep.

"These stupid Fereldens!" grumbled Gerald at the sight of the keep's walls. The stones were broken in some places but the walls were still standing. Somebody did a good job there in fortifying the keep, but not good enough; the walls had to be repaired as soon as possible.

"We really have a lot of work to do here, Diable." said Gerald proudly. "We'll teach these Fereldens what real fortifications mean. I think I came just in time."

The hound nodded shortly, then raised his head proudly and sniffed around. There was a very annoying smell around that keep, well except for the Ferelden wet dog smell that he got used to since they entered the country. There was a very disgusting scent... the marks of a male-cat! Diable immediately picked up the feline scent and started to follow the traces of the cat.

"What is it Diable? Darkspawn?" asked Gerald.

Diable barked shortly, then growled.

"I don't sense any darkspawn... then what is it?" asked Gerald.

Diable did not answered back, but started to run madly towards the keep's gate. The cat's scent was just driving him mad!

"Diable... come back!" screamed Gerald, hardly keeping the pace with the fast hound. "Merde!²"

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Howwwl!" growled the black hound at the cat who was climbed on a tree and was hissing at him.

"Meoooow!" meowed the orange tabby cat.

"Ser-Pounce-a-lot!" screamed Anders.

"Diable!" yelled Gerald.

"Howwwl!" growled the black hound insistently.

"Meoooow!" meowed the orange tabby cat from the tree.

"What is this? A cat? Diable, come here, now!" ordered Gerald.

"Ser-Pounce-a-lot!" screamed the blond mage as he got closer to the tree and placed himself in front of the angry hound. But the hound was ignoring the mage completely... he only cared about that stinky feline that was insulting him from the tree.

"Diable! Come here now!" yelled Gerald again. But his order had no effect on the hound who was barking like he was mad.

"Leave my cat alone, dog!" said the mage as he raised his hands in the air and prepared to cast a spell.

"Wait... what are you doing, mage?" said Gerald. "Merde! I hate these mages!" said Gerald as he prepared himself to smite the mage.

"You're a... _templar_!" said Anders with fear in his voice. He lowered his hands and stopped the casting of the freezing spell.

"And you're a bloody mage!" whispered Gerald between his teeth as he stopped too.

"So... I guess that's your dog... over there... howling at my _cat_." said Anders softly.

"Oui³... I guess that flea sack is your cat, _mage_." answered Gerald sarcastically.

Anders sighed deeply, then he smiled and raised his hand in order to introduced himself to the angry templar that was standing in front of him:"I'm Anders. One of the Wardens from Vigil's Keep."

"I'm Gerald LeGrand." answered Gerald sharply, ignoring Anders' hand. "Your new boss."

Anders lowered his hand slowly, hardly managing to hide all the signs of disgust and disappointment from his face. "Well... I think you should call your dog and I shall take my cat from that tree..."

"Non! You're going to order your cat to get down from that tree." said Gerald.

"That's just absurd. Cats don't follow orders! And even if he would come down, he'll be eaten by your... beast!"

"If he's not following orders than he's useless. There will be no loss if Diable eats it..." answered Gerald sharply.

"No! I will not allow this!"

"And what shall you do about this, mage? If you try something, I'll smite you immediately."

'_No. It doesn't look like the beginning of a new friendship_.' thought Set-Pounce-a-lot as he looked curiously at the two men that were arguing about him. His human friend was defending him! He looked down at the dog that was howling like mad. Then, Ser-Pounce-a-lot looked again at the two men and suddenly, a thought just came through his sharp feline mind. He gathered all his strength and pounced down from the tree straight on the dog's head, then pounced again on the ground and started to run fast. The dog, who was startled by the cat's fast move, stared for a few seconds at the running feline, then gathered all his strength and ran after it.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot!"

"Diable!"

And the mage and the templar ran after their friends too.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

All the Wardens were gathered into the Keep's yard, surrounding the new assigned Warden Commander. Close to the Orleasian Warden there were two wooden cages: a small cage and a big one. A cat was hissing nervously from the smaller wooden cage. Next to it, a hound that was also caged into a big wooden cage was growling at the feline.

"The cat leaves the Keep now and this is final!" ordered the new Warden Commander.

"No!" screamed the blond mage.

"Don't tempt me, mage. I can call the templars to take you back to the Tower immediately."

"You cannot do that... I'm a Warden now."

"Then you must obey me, your Commander."

A black haired man with a bow on his back approached the mage and the templar slowly. "If I may interfere... my sister Deliliah is looking for a new cat... she could take Ser-Pounce-a-lot."

"So be it! Take the flea bag and deliver it to your sister immediately." ordered the Commander. "Everybody, pack your bags, we are leaving for the Deep Roads in three hours."

And then all the Wardens left the yard, except Anders and Nathaniel Howe.

"Let me just say farewell to my friend, Nate." said Anders.

"Of course." answered Nathaniel.

Anders got closer to the cage were Ser-Pounce-a-lot was locked in. He took the cage in his arms and petted the cat gently through the wooden bars.

"Ser-Pounce-a-lot..." whispered Anders.

"_No! My friend ...where are you going? I want to come with you!" _meowed the cat. Ser-Pounce-a-lot raised his left small feline paw and touched the mage gently through the cage.

"I'm so sorry, Ser-Pounce-a-lot! I must do this... I wish things could be different. I'm terribly sorry!" a tear fell from Anders' right eye. "Farewell, my friend!"

'_I'll find you my human friend! I promise you!_' meowed the cat as he fought to escape from the wooden cage he was locked in.

Anders gently placed the cage into Nathaniel's arms and left the keep's yard, hardly holding back the tears that were invading his eyes. Nathaniel took the cage and left the keep, heading for Amaranthine.

'_No... what is this? Cats DON'T cry. I'm an independent feline... A male, for Maker's sake! I cannot cry...' _

But, for the first time in his feline life, Set-Pounce-a-lot cried. A lot.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Diable¹ = Devil

Merde!² = Dammit!

Oui³ = Yes

Non = No


	7. Justice and Vengeance

**Chapter 7: Justice and Vengeance**

A small nug was running fast through the cold chambers of the Deep Roads. Its small legs were trembling from fear; somewhere behind, something was following it. But, as it reached one of the many chambers of the Deep Roads, it stopped suddenly and froze at the sight of what it saw in front of it. There was huge chamber, and in the middle of it, the nug saw a big fire. Close to the fire, there was a party of many hideous creatures, a large group of darkspawn. Some of them were sitting around the fire, cleaning their weapons, others were patrolling slowly around the chamber. The nug gathered all its courage and jumped backwards, running away with all its strength from the tainted creatures. But it was already too late... one of the darkspawn saw the small creature and ran its way, sounding the alarm. All the tainted creatures gathered their weapons fast and ran towards the small nug. A darkspawn archer shot arrows toward the small creature, but it missed it.

Suddenly, the darkspawn stopped as they all felt something familiar at the same time. There was a familiar scent in the air. Who would dear to disturb them in that Maker forgotten place?

Brothers. Wardens.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A party of humans were traveling slowly through the cold Deep Roads. A tall black-haired warrior was leading the group of humans. Behind him, a hound and six men were following: four warriors, a mage and a black-haired archer.

"A had enough of these cold Deep Roads..." whispered the mage to the black-haired archer. "We are traveling through this Maker forgotten place for two weeks. It's a nightmare!"

"There is nothing we can do, Anders." whispered the archer. "We must follow our leader."

"I don't know how much I'll resist, Nate." whispered Anders back.

"Just stay put and follow his orders. Don't argue with him anymore, because he won't hesitate to kill you..." said the black-haired rogue.

"I know... I wonder when he'll lose his temper and kill me. " The mage sighted deeply. "I must leave, Nate. I cannot resist anymore! I must escape, as Vellana and Sigrun did."

"Don't do it, Anders. You know how he chased Vellana after she escaped... "

"Yes... I remembered. But he failed to find her."

"She was lucky... and an elf. Her kind protects her."

"And Sigrun... she vanished too. Into the Deep Roads. A week after Vellana did."

"She is a rogue. She knows how to hide herself."

"Maybe I should start drinking... Maybe he would fire me... like he did with Oghren."

"Don't be stupid. You cannot fool him that way either."

"I don't understand why you are following him so loyally, Nate."

"He saved my life... I owe him some respect. He's not a bad man, but he likes to be so... bossy."

"Maybe... but he hates mages... he hates me. I cannot forget that! " protested the blond mage. "And I also dislike authority! Look at the Orleasians Wardens that he brought with him... They are so... obedient, so good at following orders and rules. I cannot be like that, Nate."

One of the Orleasian Wardens turned and looked at Anders.

"Please, Anders... be careful. They might hear you... just be careful, my friend. One of them knows Ferelden too."

"I'll do my best, Nate. But escape is my only option here. Either that or... death. "

"Just try to be a little obedient, my friend. Death is not an option for you. Trust me!"

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"All mages are a disgrace in the Maker's eyes! They should all be punished!" yelled Gerald to the dead walking warrior that was walking close to him.

"How can you be so unjust? Not all mages are bad... Anders, my human friend is not bad. It is not just to consider all the mages guilty by default. "

"Don't argue with me, Justice. Your view about this world is an idealistic one. You don't know how dangerous mages are!"

"I am Justice, the spirit of Justice. And I'm just saying that you are not a just leader! You let yourself be guided by your prejudices and misconceptions and this is not what a good Commander should do!"

"So... you are now questioning my commanding skills?"

"Yes. Defining rules and forcing people to obey them is not leadership. You should help your people work together, understand their needs, make them respect you. "

"No! This is all just bullshit! People obey their leaders only because they fear them! Fear is good... it is the key ingredient for leadership."

"Be careful... authority is a double edged sword..."

"Oh... just stop it! I command you to stop talking!"

"And why should I obey you?"

"Because I have the power to kill you!"

"This body is already dead... And I'm a spirit... you just cannot kill me."

"Then... I'll just have to punish your friend Anders!"

"That's not fair... but is possible. I haven't thought about that."

"See... you have so much more to learn about this world... spirit."

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The dead warrior got closer to the blond mage. The spirit from within him had just made an important decision after his arguments with the Warden Commander.

"Anders... my friend." whispered the spirit.

"Justice..." answered the mage.

"I'll leave soon and I must help you also escape..."

"Oh... wow... do you spirits also read thoughts?"

"No. But helping you escape is the just way to correct this situation. This body is weak. I'll have to leave the human's world soon. But first, I must return the Warden's body to his wife, Aura. This is the right thing to do. Still, my mission in this human world is not done for me, yet. I have some unfinished business here."

"Then we should escape and head for Amaranthine. Maybe we'll find a way for you to remain here... another body, perhaps?"

"Yes. We shall escape as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Justice. I owe you one."

But their conversation was interrupted by the Commander's hound which was barking and growling.

"What is it Diable? Darkspawn?" asked Gerald.

Diable barked shortly, then growled again; the hound sensed another animal,a small nug, which was hiding itself in a small corner of the room.

"I don't sense any darkspawn... then what is it?" asked Gerald.

Diable did not answered back, but started to run madly towards the nug. The little rodent's scent was just driving him mad!

"Diable... come back!" screamed Gerald, hardly keeping the pace with the fast hound. "Merde!"

"Wait... where are you going?" screamed Gerald. "Follow me!" he ordered and started to ran after the hound. The Wardens ran for a few moments, but then, suddenly, they all had a familiar feeling ...

"Darkspawn!" yelled the Warden Commander. "Prepare for battle!"

The Wardens just entered a huge chamber of the Deep Roads where a big group of darkspawn were expecting them, already prepared for battle.

"Sixty darkspawn against seven Wardens and a hound... it is not a fair fight at all. " whispered Anders.

"A suicidal mission..." stated Justice.

"It was the new Warden Commander's decision to search the Architect into the Deep Roads., but who dares to question his demands?" whispered Anders.

"Just me... but my body is already dead. And it was useless. He won't listen to any of us!" stated Justice again.

"Attack!" ordered the Commander and then all the Wardens attacked the horde of darkspawn

The Orleasian Wardens charged first; they were killed fast by the rain of arrows.

Then, the Commander right arm was hit by an arrow, making Gerald drop his sword on the ground.

The Commander took his sword in his left hand and continued the charge on the horde of darkspawn.

"Commander! We must retreat!" yelled Justice.

"No! Never! Charge!" ordered the Commander as he charged the horde of darkspawn.

Nathaniel dropped his bow and took his swords out, then charged too. Justice followed Nate closely, guarding his back. Anders remained in a corner of the room, casting lightening spells, then a healing spell on Nate.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A small nug was trembling in a corner of the cold room. There were dead bodies everywhere... about sixty dead darkspawn bodies, a dead hound and three dead Wardens. Close to the fire, three Wardens were kneed around another Warden that was wounded.

"You are badly wounded, Commander. Here, drink this potion!" said one of the Wardens.

"No!" I... won't!... I... don't trust you, mage!" protested the wounded Commander.

"Listen to him, Commander. You are badly wounded." said Nathaniel.

"No! I... don't need your help, mage!" said Gerald.

"He wants to heal you, let him help you, Commander." insisted the black-haired rogue.

"Non!" yelled the Commander with all his power.

"Then you will die..." stated the spirit.

"I want to help you, Commander. Trust me! I'm a healer... I can help you." said Anders.

"Non! Get away from me, mage!" protested Gerald again.

"I see no other way..." stated Nate. "I'll hold him and you'll give him the potion."

"No-" said the Commander, but his word was interrupted by the mage just poured the potion into his mouth, while Nathaniel was holding Gerald's head. The Warden Commander fell into a deep sleep.

"He'll heal slowly. I'll also cast a healing spell on you too."

"Thanks, Anders."

"You're welcome, Nate." "We'll leave now, come with us."

"No. I'll stay by his site... he's still my Commander."

"I don't understand you, my friend... "

"I believe that there is something good in any man... even in Gerald." stated Nathaniel. " Here, take these maps of the Deep Roads. You'll need them if you want to get out of this Maker's forgotten place. I have a copy of them with me also."

"Thanks, Nate. Take care of you, my friend!"

"You too, Anders!"

"Goodbye!" said the spirit of Justice.

"Goodbye, Justice!"

And then the mage and the dead warrior left the Deep Roads, heading for Amaranthine.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

_A tabby cat was running fast through the cold chambers of the Deep Roads. Its small legs were trembling from fear; somewhere behind, something was following it. But, as it reached one of the many chambers of the Deep Roads, it stopped suddenly and its small heart started to pounce madly. A blond mage that was sitting around a huge fire, in the middle of the room._

"_Meow!" meowed the cat at it ran towards the mage._

"_Ser-Pounce-a-lot!" said the mage, smiling beautifully._

"_Meow!" meowed the cat as it almost reached the human._

_Ser-Pounce-a-lot was preparing himself to pounce into the human's arms... _

_Suddenly, a big lava pit just grow out of nowhere in front of the tabby cat and it forced it to stop from pouncing. _

"_Hey, pussycat!" said a big hound from behind to the small feline._

"_What?!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot surprised at he turned and faced the big hound._

"_Hmm... surprise?!" said the hound._

"_Hey, why are you you chasing me?"_

"_Because you're my dinner. I just want to make a delicious Oleasian cat stew... yummy!" smirked the dog._

_In a moment, the hound charged the cat; Ser-Pounce-a-lot pounced over it and used his sharp claws to scratch the dog's ears. The hound growled again, this time from pain as its ears just started to bleed._

"_Meow!" meowed the cat again. "You didn't expect that, didn't you?"_

"_Just a few scratches... is this all you can do, cat?"_

"_Damn you, Orleasian dog!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot at he charged the dog with all his power._

_Suddenly, the hound disappeared and a black-haired woman appeared from nowhere in front of Ser-Pounce-a-lot..._

"_Pouncy! Where are you?" yelled a black-haired young woman._

_Then the woman disappeared and Ser-Pounce-a-lot was facing the big hound again. _

"_Hmm... Orleasian cat stew. Yummy!" said the dog as he jumped at the cat._

"_No! I'm not going to be your dinner!" yelled Ser-Pounce-a-lot as he pounced again._

_But as the cat pounced over the dog, the hound slipped over a small rock and fell into the lava pit that was behind them. Ser-Pounce-a-lot landed safely on the ground and watched as the dog vanished into the lava._

"_Ha! Dinner is better served hot!" said Ser-Pounce-a-lot, laughing._

_The black-haired woman appeared suddenly in front of Ser-Pounce-a-lot._

"_Pouncy! Where are you?" yelled a black-haired young woman._

The fat tabby cat opened its eyes slowly. In a moment, the lava pit and the Deep Roads vanished and all he could see was a small dark room full of shelves. He looked around and saw that he was sitting in a wooden basket full with wool that was placed on one of the shelves.

"Pouncy! It's dinner time. MILK!" said the woman again, emphasizing the last word.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot pounced out from the basket and started to walk slowly towards the room's door. His fatty body made pouncing so difficult! He pushed the door with his head and walked slowly to the woman.

"Meow!" said the feline on a gently tone as he reached the woman.

"Here you go, Pouncy. A plate full of milk. Enjoy it!" said the woman. She immediately placed a plate full of some delicious milk in front of the feline.

The cat didn't wait too much... he actually threw itself at the plate full of the delicious white liquid and started to eat greedily. After he finished the whole milk, the cat slowly returned to its cozy basket and began to clean his whiskers slowly.

Yes... life was good for Ser-Pounce-a-lot since he had been given to Dililiah, Nathaniel's sister. There was plenty of milk there, and the new human friend was treating him nicely. A great life indeed!

He was well fed... getting fat... a good thing, right?

Ser-Pounce-a-lot thought about the dream that he just had. His life was good, but still... there was something important missing there... an essential part. A missing piece of puzzle that made Ser-Pounce-a-lot feel so... incomplete. Like a part of him had been left behind. Someone stole a part of his heart and got away with it! There were days when he felt so bad... he missed his old human friend, Anders.

Why did they take him away from him?

The answer was simple: because of a dog, of course.

Why did life had to be like that?

Because there was always a dog in the way of a feline's success in life... life was so unfair!

But still... life was good there, at Deliliah's... that could work... maybe he could forget about Anders, stay there, drink gallons of milk... it was an option to consider.

Ser-Pounce-a-lot stopped cleaning his whiskers for a moment and thought deeply...

Were was the fun in all that? Who would call him Ser-Pounce-a-lot again? Pouncy was a name for a pussycat! And Ser-Pounce-a-lot was a tomcat... a proud and independent feline.

The cat raised its head proudly.

Staying at Deliliah was a very comfortable situation... but all his Warden blood was yelling for escape! Suddenly, some memories about Anders came back to him... he way he was petting him gently, his unusual bound with the human... He wasn't feeling the same bound with Deliliah.

And there was also the fact that he had to do something about that... disgusting hound. Revenge was a necessity!

So, after a few more thinking, Ser-Pounce-a-lot decided that he would do something stupid, but necessary: he would get out of his comfort zone and go in search for Anders!

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

It was midnight and a full moon was lightening the streets of Amaranthine. A mage and a warrior were walking slowly on the empty streets of the city.

"Come Justice. Just a little more. Aura's place is close."

"I'm so weak... " whispered the warrior.

"Don't worry, my friend. I'll help you."

"I... must keep my promise to her. I must give her back the body. But my mission in this world is not done.. yet."

"I'll be your vessel."

"This is dangerous, Anders."

"I want to... you helped me too... I owe you." said the mage as he stopped walking. "We're here. This is were she lives."

The mage and the warrior stopped in front of a big house. Anders knocked on the door, but nobody answered.

"Mistress Aura!" yelled the mage.

After a few moments, a tall woman opened the door of the house slowly.

"Who... who is it?" whispered Aura.

"Aura... I brought his body back... as... I... promised." whispered Justice, then his body fell on the ground.

The woman got out of the house slowly and found the dead body of her husband in front of the door. She felt over the body, crying; she did not see the blond mage that just walked away fast and vanished into the night.

As soon as he walked away from Aura's residence, Anders's eyes turned shining blue.

"The symbiotic bounding between the mage and the spirit has been successfully completed. There is no more turning back now." said the spirit from within the mage.

"Who are you? Where is Justice?" asked Anders.

"My name is... Vengeance." answered the spirit from within the mage.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"


End file.
